Aer Lingus and CityJet seal London ACMI deal

Ireland’s Aer Lingus and CityJet have sealed a wet lease arrangement to operate a pair of Avro RJ85 aircraft between London City Airport and Dublin.

The ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) deal builds on CityJet’s long-established presence at London City Airport, while also expanding Aer Lingus’ existing schedules to London, which already include flights to Gatwick and Heathrow. The arrangement means it will now operate 50 daily flights between the two cities as of 28 October.

Aer Lingus will operate six daily round trips from Dublin to London City Airport on weekdays, with a reduced service at the weekend. The two aircraft in Aer Lingus livery will be configured in a single-cabin layout. Dublin-London is the busiest international air route in Europe, say the two airlines.

Pat Byrne, CEO at CityJet, said: “In recent years we have transitioned CityJet from being an airline serving scheduled markets under its own brand into becoming a provider of capacity to customer airlines throughout Europe. We are delighted to now add Aer Lingus to our growing list of flying partners.”

CityJet employs almost 1,300 people and has a fleet of 45 aircraft flying on over 200 routes across Europe. It was one of the first airlines to launch services to London City Airport in 1994. It also provides wet lease services for airlines including SAS, Air France, Brussels Airlines and KLM.

Stephen Kavanagh, CEO at Aer Lingus, commented: “We are delighted to be entering into this agreement with CityJet. Aer Lingus is on an ambitious flight path and working with Pat and his team will allow us to add to our extensive services to London Heathrow and London Gatwick. The Dublin to London City route will facilitate further business flows between Dublin and London and the service will provide those wishing to travel seamlessly from the heart of London City to North America with a very attractive connecting proposition, including US customs and immigration pre-clearance.”

Dublin-based Aer Lingus also added that it “welcomes the constructive contribution made by the Irish Airlines Pilots Association (IALPA) in reaching an agreement (subject to ratification by its membership) which facilitates the ACMI deal between Aer Lingus and CityJet.”